Chapter 82

After confirming the male and female leads, the film's preparation work could be pushed forward rapidly.

Cao Yang had originally planned to shoot this film in Beijing, but who would have thought that Ludong Island would get the news from somewhere and specifically contact Cao Yang.

Shouting: Subsidies, subsidies, we have fiscal subsidies, Cao Dao come quickly!

Cao Yang didn't really value the subsidies; it was mainly because Ludong Island was too enthusiastic, and plus, the previous two films were shot in Ludong Island, so he had developed an attachment...

Coming, coming.

Thus, Cao Yang arranged for Cheng Jianye and Gu Changwei to take a few crew members and go over first to find suitable filming locations.

Incidentally, he let Cheng Jianye contact a few advertisers; the cars appearing in the film, the piano the female lead uses for her training class, and the drinks used in several gatherings could all be quietly placed as advertisements without affecting the film's viewing experience.

Moreover, he also let Cheng Jianye clearly tell the car manufacturer that the film was preparing to go to Cannes, but the car would break down at the beginning of the film; if they could accept that, they could make an offer, if not, forget it.

Not two days later, Cheng Jianye called to say that domestic car manufacturer Chery had offered a high price, asking if they should take it.

Cao Yang asked if they weren't afraid that the car breaking down would affect their brand?

Cheng Jianye said he had already told the other party, and they said it didn't matter; anyway, the streets were full of people saying, "Chery Chery, queue up for repairs," and what they wanted was to quickly build a name for themselves, everything else was secondary.

Cao Yang actually knew this meme.

Simply put, after Chery was built, they didn't have the qualifications to sell cars, so they could only "foster" them at SAIC, and after a brief cooperation, they broke up, which led to the lack of manufacturer repair points on the market.

Coupled with the fact that Chery's initial minor problems were indeed numerous and it was very difficult to find manufacturer after-sales service, this meme was born.

What else was there to hesitate about? The price was right, the other party didn't mind, sign the contract.

Cao Yang considered it afterward; domestic brands weren't easy to come by these days, and they were generous with money, so he would just help out since it was a simple matter.

Thus, he changed the car breakdown in the script to the car running out of gas.

The female lead returning to the small town was meant to be an escape, and being burdened with worries, she didn't notice the fuel gauge, so driving until the car ran out of gas was also plausible.

This small change didn't affect the plot; instead, it could highlight the female lead's personality and psychology.

Then, the Luedongdao local government heard that there were scenes in the film using drinks for gatherings, so they acted as a go-between for Tsingtao Beer, and another advertising placement was negotiated.

The piano advertisement was taken by an old-brand piano enterprise in Yangcheng.

After signing all the contracts and calculating, just from the advertising placement income, the film had already recouped its costs and had a very, very large surplus!

These days, it's really very, very easy for a big director to make money.

The film hadn't even started shooting, and the foreign rights had been sold for nearly 6 million US dollars, plus the advertising income, adding up to tens of millions in revenue.

This was pure profit.

At any time, in any industry, the income at the top of the pyramid is extraordinarily substantial.

The film's preparation progress was moving forward in an orderly manner, and several main characters had also been mostly confirmed.

Female lead Gao Yuanyuan, male lead Wu Qihua, the pastor was given to Liao Qizhi, and the kindergarten principal was given to Wang Jinsong. Wang Laoshi was so happy he grinned from ear to ear and treated a few close colleagues to a meal in advance.

Huang Lei happened to run into them, so he tagged along for a free meal.

During the meal, everyone was puzzled as to why Wang Jinsong was treating them for no reason, and even joked about whether he had found a second spring.

Wang Jinsong laughed, waved his hands to deny it, and finally sighed casually, saying that he might need to take leave to shoot a film in a while, so he was treating everyone to a meal before leaving and asking them to help look after his students.

Since the conversation had reached this point, someone definitely asked what film he was going to shoot.

Wang Laoshi pretended to ponder for a moment and said it was just a small supporting role, but it still had some screen time, oh right, it was Cao Dao's new film...

For a moment, everyone was laughing and chatting on the surface, but inside, none of them felt good—why? Why do you, old geezer, get to exclusively enjoy Cao Dao's favor?

You unfilial wretch!

Huang Lei was even more envious, jealous, and hateful, his teeth itching with anger; he picked up a piece of food and chewed it forcefully with a crunching sound, ignoring his image—you old thing who sells his ass!

Finally, everyone tacitly ordered a few more bottles of good wine, enough to make Wang Jinsong's heart ache for a while.

For the female lead's child, they needed a child around five years old, either boy or girl would do.

Cao Yang didn't release the news and directly let assistant director Liu Shan find one in Luedongdao.

Otherwise, as long as the news was released, so many age-appropriate second-generation industry kids would be breaking down the door to debut under such a young Golden Lion big director. At that time, deciding who to use and who not to use would be a headache, and he was too lazy to argue about it one by one.

For the remaining less important roles, except for those whose age didn't fit, Cao Yang planned to give them all to students currently studying at Beijing Film Academy.

Then, he received a call from Old Tian.

Old Tian was hesitant on the phone, seemingly finding it hard to speak.

Cao Yang found it strange; this didn't seem like Old Tian's personality, so he said: "Senior brother, if you have something to say, just say it, don't play this 'hard to get' game with me."

Old Tian relaxed all at once and said somewhat embarrassedly on the other end of the phone: "I owed someone a favor before, and now they've come to me, asking me to recommend an actress to you."

"A romantic debt?"

"Get lost, I never owe romantic debts, I usually pay them back on the spot... pfft, you kid led me into the gutter."

Old Tian scolded with a laugh, then sighed and said: "I really don't want to recommend this person to you, but there's no way around it, I have a favor to repay."

"Alright, senior brother, just tell me who it is; let's agree first, if she wants the female lead, even if Teacher Situ comes to plead for her, there's no way."

"Hmm, I know, I've already made that clear; the other party just wants to establish a connection with you, if the lead doesn't work, a supporting role is fine; my making this call counts as repaying the favor."

!

"Who is it? So powerful?"

"Xu Jinglei."

Cao Yang was silent for a moment; this woman is truly awesome, she could even get someone to plead to Old Tian; could it be the influence of the so-called Jing Circle?

The country is just like this, a society of favors; as long as you owe a favor, even if it's a very difficult matter, there's no way around it.

Just like Cao Yang, does he owe favors?

He definitely does; one is Old Situ, the other is Old Tian.

Don't talk about how they've already been repaid; the grace of guidance is something that can't be clearly defined.

Principle issues definitely cannot be broken, such as the film's lead, which is something no one can interfere with.

But for a supporting role, since Old Tian has spoken, it definitely carries weight with Cao Yang.

"Senior brother, since you've spoken, I've agreed; the favor you owe others is considered repaid, right?"

"Hmm..."

"Then fine, senior brother, tell her I've agreed; there's a supporting role with not much screen time that can be given to her. Then, tell her that the female lead of this film is Gao Yuanyuan, and she'll understand what that means."

Old Tian was silent for a long time, and finally sighed, "Cao Yang, I..."

"Alright senior brother, when did you become so long-winded? There's no need for that between us; if you have something, you don't need to act like a woman and play the sentimental card with me... just say what you have to say."

"Sigh, you... get lost, hanging up."

"Okay, hurry up and go find your romantic debt."

"You kid..."

Old Tian listened to the "beep-beep" sound coming from the phone and sighed again; when you're in the world, you really can't help yourself!

To hell with it.

Cao Yang letting Old Tian tell the other party that the female lead of this film was Gao Yuanyuan was actually a way of rejecting the other party.

Do you have the nerve?

A few months ago in "Railroad of Spring," Gao Yuanyuan was still a small supporting role in your film, playing a supporting part for you, the kind that didn't even have many lines.

Now, turning around and asking you to play a supporting part for Gao Yuanyuan, also the kind with almost no lines, do you still have the face to come?

Actually, if it were to make it easier for Gao Yuanyuan to get into character, letting Xu Jinglei hang around the set would be the best choice; it would definitely make Gao Yuanyuan nervous and filled with grief and indignation.

Cao Yang could also do such a thing.

But it depends on the person.

Cao Yang is a person with a very small heart, and he holds grudges.

(End of chapter)